Video games do NOT lead to violence. Period.

originally posted by: rickymouse
So, from first hand knowing lots of kids who have played a lot of violent video games, I definitely see that these people are not safe with a gun,
mostly in that they are wreckless. They cannot properly comprehend that they can easily hurt someone by accident. My youngest daughter will probably
get all my guns and she can take care of distributing them. Most of my guns have been in my family for at least three generations.

Is it the games causing it or the upbringing. You are picking and choosing what you think is the problem. Kids that join gangs at like age of 7 and
kill their first person by age of 12, do you say it games that causes this? Most of the kids around my kids all play games, and the reckless ones I
can contribute to the family structure more than anything else. Kids raising kids as the parent(s) work, or cases where the parents allow the kids to
take over as the alpha slot in the house. There are a lot of dysfunctional families out there that create these little monsters...

I honestly do not understand this stupid argument that violent video games are desensitising people to violence and can encourage violence.

I play Fifa all the time, doesn't make me a world class footballer! Just like playing Call of Duty does not make me a spec-ops guy or playing Grand
Theft Auto does not make me a violent enraged criminal.

We had violent movies long before we had violent video games, nobody seems to point to them, Grand Theft Auto V sold 65 million copies, if violent
video games were causing violence then we would know about it for sure after that I think.

Personally I believe that the violent video game leads to violence claim is comes from two groups. Firstly gun advocates like to use it to distract
from everything else other than gun culture. There is also a second group who quite frankly have probably never picked up a video game in their life
who don't understand or appreciate the artistic media that it is.

That MAY be true. However, something has changed over time. Guns have been ubiquitous for generations. So has bullying. I'm almost 66yrs. I grew
up surrounded by guns. And bullying went on every day in school. Yet there were no mass shootings. What has changed since? I would suggest that
two of the most dramatic societal changes over the years are the advent and widespread 'consumption' of video games and movies depicting violence and
the inception of the internet --- most particularly social media, a favorite weapon of bullies. Yes, there can be any number of other factors but I
suspect the foregoing. We have become a far less genteel society.

So you are completely unwilling to admit there is even a possibility that 8 to 13 year olds playing Grand Theft Auto will become desensitized to
stealing and violence? Or that the same age range shooting and blowing up others in first person shooters couldn't even have the remote possibility
of leading to violence? Because if you watch youtube there are plenty of examples of kids going into a complete psycho rage over just minor things
that happen to them in the game.

How about the nine year old who just recently shot his sister for not giving him a controller. There's zero chance the video game had even the
slightest impact on this behavior? Another boy in Cleveland shot his parents when they wouldn't let him play Halo 3.

There's no shortage of stories like this. I think you're crazy not to think there is even a hint of influence from shooting people in video games all
day and shooting someone in real life.

Or that the same age range shooting and blowing up others in first person shooters couldn't even have the remote possibility of leading to violence?
Because if you watch youtube there are plenty of examples of kids going into a complete psycho rage over just minor things that happen to them in the
game.

The issue in these instances is not the game but the child.

Yes a child playing these can lead to violence if the child is prone to violence, there are underlining issues that arise due the influences of the
world around us but they are not root issue.

How about the nine year old who just recently shot his sister for not giving him a controller. There's zero chance the video game had even the
slightest impact on this behavior? Another boy in Cleveland shot his parents when they wouldn't let him play Halo 3. There's no shortage of stories
like this. I think you're crazy not to think there is even a hint of influence from shooting people in video games all day and shooting someone in
real life.

Both example you give do the opposite of what you are trying to say.

In both cases if the child was allowed to play would they have killed in that instance?

No,

Chances are they would at another time because the issue wasn't the video game.

Now excuse me, it's getting dark and I need to chop these trees down, dig up some dirt to clear a spot and build a small house that I can place my
crafting table in, and be safe from the monsters till sunrise.

originally posted by: rickymouse
So, from first hand knowing lots of kids who have played a lot of violent video games, I definitely see that these people are not safe with a gun,
mostly in that they are wreckless. They cannot properly comprehend that they can easily hurt someone by accident. My youngest daughter will probably
get all my guns and she can take care of distributing them. Most of my guns have been in my family for at least three generations.

Is it the games causing it or the upbringing. You are picking and choosing what you think is the problem. Kids that join gangs at like age of 7 and
kill their first person by age of 12, do you say it games that causes this? Most of the kids around my kids all play games, and the reckless ones I
can contribute to the family structure more than anything else. Kids raising kids as the parent(s) work, or cases where the parents allow the kids to
take over as the alpha slot in the house. There are a lot of dysfunctional families out there that create these little monsters...

They are enthused with killing people in the games. My daughter does not think they are good for the kids but my son-in-law loves them and gets the
most violent kinds which the kids play a lot. the Son-in-law even goes online through some group he belongs to and plays against other people. He
does not seem to be effected too negatively, but the kids are. Maybe it is that the kids were not taught to respect a gun and that is going to be
hard to change.

Other than the video game playing,their home environment is pretty normal, I would consider both households normal by today's standard. The big thing
is probably considered as depersonalization disorder, they look at life as if it is a video game. I see that Facebook is causing problems too with
our society, but that would be a different condition than what I am seeing with the video games.

originally posted by: Iconic
I've read in a few posts lately (I just came back to ATS lately, took a hiatus), and saw more than a few people who are STILL pushing the old, tired
scapegoat of "Violent video games" being a contributing factor to a rise in violence.

This, is empirically, statistically, and demonstrably false. It has been proven, time and time again, that this is not the case.

Every bit of information, every source, that will tell you otherwise; is completely and utterly either circumstantial or based on a specific
happenstance.

When violent video games came out on to the market, there has been a steady decline in violent crime since. That's a BASIC fact. That alone defeats
the entire argument, but don't just take it from me. Here are some links.

A key element of that problem is the willingness of professional guild organizations such as the APA to promote false beliefs about violent video
games. (I’m a fellow of the APA.) These groups mainly exist to promote a profession among news media, the public and policymakers, influencing
licensing and insurance laws. They also make it easier to get grants and newspaper headlines. Psychologists and psychology researchers like myself pay
them yearly dues to increase the public profile of psychology. But there is a risk the general public may mistake promotional positions for objective
science. In 2005 the APA released its first policy statement linking violent video games to aggression. However, my recent analysis of internal APA
documents with criminologist Allen Copenhaver found that the APA ignored inconsistencies and methodological problems in the research data. The APA
updated its statement in 2015, but that sparked controversy immediately: More than 230 scholars wrote to the group asking it to stop releasing policy
statements altogether. I and others objected to perceived conflicts of interest and lack of transparency tainting the process.[/e

Agreed...to an extent. While not directly LEADING to or creating violent individuals... The issue becomes that we can kill people in a game... And
they always get back up for the next game.

I think it can have some effect on an individual.. like the gun and marijuana issues.

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